World of WarCrafts: Vedrim's Marrowgar mix mayhem

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by e-mailing lisa (at) wow (dot) com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

If your ticket to a heart-pumping raid soundtrack is MrVoletron's WoW-flavored remixes, then you'll undoubtedly be a fan of Vedrim as well. (In point of fact, MrVoletron's a fan, too.) Vedrim's "Bound by Bone" (above) weaves an irresistible combination of original music with Marrowgar's booming in-game commands. You'll never again fight Marrowgar without this song in your head. Follow our interview with Vedrim through the break, where we'll also show you his newest track, "The Maker's Fire."

World of WarCrafts: We understand that "Bound by Bone" is in fact your very first remix effort. Bravo! What's your musical background?

Vedrim: Music has always been a part of my life. I was surrounded by it from a very early age. My mother's side of the family has a strong musical history. She always played her own compositions on our piano throughout my childhood, and her father, Robert Harris, actually wrote the original theme music for the Spiderman TV show to go along with Paul Webster's lyrics.

As for myself, I took piano lessons for a few years when I was younger but was primarily a percussionist from about the fourth grade all the way through my senior year in high school. I began writing my own compositions when I was 13 with my first MIDI-enabled electric piano, a Casio my parents had given me for my birthday. One of my compositions actually made it to the finals of the state level of the nation-wide Reflections competition, a showcase for students to put their works on display regardless of the medium.

I've only really been composing music electronically for about the past eight years or so, trying my hand at a few of the many software-based production suites out there through both what was available at my high school and those that I was able to pick up on my own.

So have you done much mixing work before now, or is this truly a virgin effort?

Well, this was the first time I've ever really tried to integrate audio clips rhythmically with an underlying musical composition to create a finished product, but it was certainly not my first foray into the world of electronic music composition. A few of my older pieces of work can be found on the Newgrounds Audio Portal, an arm of the infamous flash portal Newgrounds.com, where musicians can submit their work for flash artists to use in their animations royalty-free.

I've messed around with trying it in the past, but this is the first time I ever really bucked down and forced myself to begin learning how to do it properly. I've still got a lot to learn, but based on the positive feedback I've received so far, it looks like I will definitely have an outlet to continue practicing with!

Who are your musical influences?

A very tough question, as my influences vary depending on what type of music I'm currently writing, since I also do orchestral-style compositions in addition to electronic remixes such as "Bound by Bone." I'd have to say my primary influences when doing D&B mixes would be Pendulum and the Bomfunk MC's, with Tiesto and some of Darude's work providing a lot of the influence behind any dance or trance tracks that I might do. I'm also a huge fan of Eirik Blodøks Hafskjold of SkyMarshallArts.com and Jermain Blume (aka ParagonX9) of Newgrounds Audio Portal fame.


Tell us a little about the technical side of producing your mix.

Everything for "Bound by Bone" was done entirely in FLStudio 9 Producer Edition by Image-Line. While I'm sure there are still people out there who wouldn't even give Fruity Loops the time of day, the truth of the matter is that it's an incredibly powerful piece of software which has evolved considerably from its humble beginnings as what many would call an "amateur beat-maker." I've been a fan of it for years and would highly recommend it to both beginning and advanced users. The ease of use and functionality you get for $199 is just awesome, and completely worth every penny in my book. You can download a free demo on their website, too.

Even though "Bound by Bone" was *produced* entirely in FL Studio, I did use a few third-party VST plug-ins and sample libraries. Essentially, VST plug-ins are virtual instruments which provide you with extra sounds and effects to use in your productions. Looking at the raw files now, the only two VSTs that I used in "Bound by Bone" that did not come with the software are the KORG Legacy Collection (available at www.korg.com) and YMCK's Magical 8-Bit Plugin, available free. The drum loops and samples were taken from AMG's 160db and 260db Drum&Bass libraries.

As far as the business of actually producing the song goes, some elements of the production process for this song in particular were completely new to me, such as adjusting the tempo of Marrowgar's audio clips to match that of the song without altering the pitch. The toughest part, though, was definitely the mastering, which didn't really turn out how I'd have liked it to. I feel it's definitely my weakest attribute musically, and it's something I hope to improve on in the future through practice.

How long did "Bound by Bone" take to produce, from start to finish?

The entire process of actually producing the song took between two and three days, having worked on the project each day for approximately four to five hours each.

Any outlook on making machinima using your remixes?

While I'm not quite as skilled in the video department myself, I'd have no problem if anyone wanted to use any of my mixes in their own work! I'm a huge fan of WoW machinima and the music subculture that goes along with it and would love to have a chance to work with machinima producers someday. The beyond legendary Baron Soosdon, Olibith, Oxhorn and the guys at Myndflame are four of my personal favorites when it comes to machinima. I've also been a Cranius fanboi since "Big Blue Dress," with his version of "The Lament of Captain Placeholder" probably being my favorite of his works. My pipe dream is to have the chance to work with some of them one day!

What's coming up next? Are you working on any new mixes right now?

My main project right now is a trance mix of the theme from "O Thanagor," also known as "Arthas, My Son" from the Wrath of the Lich King opening cinematic. It's actually almost finished, but I want it to be as close to perfect as possible before I release it, so there's a good chance it'll take another week before it's ready. After that, I have no idea what my next project will be; any suggestions?

We're sure readers will pound the comments with suggestions, Vedrim! One last question for our WoW-loving readers: Who's your main?

I've always been a pretty hardcore raider, having been playing the game since the open beta. My current main is a retribution paladin named Vedalken over on the US Duskwood server, where I serve as one of the four officers of the raiding guild <Dinosaurchestra>. We're sort of a mix between casual and hardcore raiding -- "casual" in the sense that we raid only three nights a week, but "hardcore" in the sense that we are a progression-oriented guild and expect the same mindset of our members. Currently, we've cleared everything up to Arthas on 25-man, and we've begun working on the 10-man hard modes after having downed the Lich King two weeks ago.

We're looking forward to hearing your newest beats soon right here on World of WarCrafts. Thanks, Vedrim.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by

WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by e-mailing lisa (at) wow (dot) com with your not-for-profit WoW-inspired creations.